Shattered Masks
by LadyEmber
Summary: Proudly presenting Ember&Valentine in NARUTO UNIVERSE! What might happen when they clash with Konoha and Suna nin? Will people survive the awesomeness? What effect would the reappearance of a forgotten bloodline have on the Naruto universe? ENJOY!
1. Introductions and Entrances

Dedicated to: Valentine-hime, my inspiration and the most amazing Queen of Hearts you shall ever be privileged to meet.

An honour to have met you and an even greater honour to be your friend.

Disclaimer: Shockingly enough I don't own Naruto *cries* but if I did then Naruto would so be paired with-  
Ahem, yeah, think that'll stay my own little secret.  
I only own the plot, some random names and my OC 'Ember' with the other, 'Valentine' being owned by _Valentine999_.

-x-

Enough of my irritating blather! Read and enjoy!  


* * *

The scarlet orb that called itself the sun was only just peeking its blazing brow over the distant horizon as this tale begins. Accompanying this was a moment of stillness that was felt throughout the hidden continent, the winds then grew violent and a maelstrom of troubles began to form, though as of yet unseen.

As the shadows began to gradually fade a sense of tranquillity spread throughout the forest, this feeling being near overwhelming in one particular clearing in which our attention is drawn to. Suddenly two figures swept by, the dew drenched trees whispered of their passing as thick droplets of water were dislodged, cascading to the forest floor below.

Pursued by the flickering shadows that made up a small number of guards, they dashed on with the hope that they could lose their followers, unaware that their hunters were more afraid for their lives if they failed this capture than having to chase them for an unknown distance or length of time, which they would do, if past experiences were taken into account. Their boss was not exactly well known for his mercy, failure was not tolerated. This capture just had to go right, or they were doomed to their future being reduced to that of a bloody smear on cold stone flooring.

A blood-curdling scream ripped through the cool morning air, tainting the silent skies briefly until the sudden noise itself was literally cut off as the razor wire completed its job in resisting the forward motion of the now expired warrior. The hastily laid trap had drawn first blood and now briefly bore the heavy fruits of success until they tumbled gracelessly to the ground with numerous fleshy thumps.

Although left slightly surprised by the sudden death of a member of their hunting party the swift pursuers merely took note to be aware of any more traps that could be around, watching their surroundings cautiously and all brushed off the slight shake in their limbs as due to the excitement of the hunt, though the more experienced knew better.

As they leapt through the treetops, going from branch to branch the leading ninja felt their quarry's chakra signal slow down momentarily, leaving two of the more prepared ninja slowing down slightly, weapons clutched tight but ready within scarred hands. Something had changed.

Forcing more chakra into their feet all but one pushed themselves into a high leap, the one left behind running right into the mass of exploding tags and didn't even have time to blink before they were triggered, leaving a bloody explosion in their wake.

Yet even as this was occurring they could not allow themselves to be distracted, the fleetest of the pursuit gave no warning to the others, merely scattering somehow at the apex of his leap as a wave of shuriken flew at them from the left, leaving one nin to successfully deflect the projectiles away from himself, the other was still too shaken after the prior explosion and never saw it coming, dying quickly as the metal teeth bit deep into the unprotected flesh of his throat. Tumbling as if merely struck the corpse fell to the forest floor, a feast for whichever carnivore came across the now cooling meat first.

And then there were two.

Now began a complicated game of cat and mouse, though the roles kept switching as each pair tried to disembowel the other with ingenious traps, deadly, but ingenious traps all the same.

Finally, when both groups were seemingly battered and bruised all over they stumbled across a large open clearing. Seems the games had ceased and now was the last stand, though for whom it was unclear.

* * *

  
Throughout the chase the sun had continued its ascent into the heavens and the shadows had retreated from its burning gaze so now the clearing in which the four combatants stood was flooded with bright sunlight, revealing the targets of both pairs to each other.

The hired nukenin stood ready, panting slightly after the chase, slashed headbands glinting in the dawn's early light; Iwa and Kumo, stone and cloud if they were to be believed, though sometimes fake headbands were worn to deceive opponents.

The cloud ninja stood almost casually, despite the hostile situation, hands in pockets and a derogatory sneer in place as he glared across at his soon-to-be opponents. A tilted hat made of some unknown dried plant rested atop his spiky bronze locks, shading most of his face from curious eyes.

He was dressed in forest colours, his brown hat paired with a light pair of shinobi pants with a pair of black combat boots just peeking out from the baggy garments. His shirt was short sleeved, made up of a material covered with a mottling of shades of green, co-ordinated with a unique off-the-centre zip in black and his look was finished off by his black backed headband taking prime position upon his right arm.

A chain crossed diagonally over his chest, the ends covered by a plain cloth bag that was tied to his right hip;

'_Probably a weapon of some sort' _Valentine thought to herself.

His partner seemed to be more aware of the situation, exuding a seriousness that could almost be deemed visible to the naked eye, a black katana within an experienced grip, his stance alert for any movement.

His blonde hair brushed against his shoulders in a straight horizontal light, precisely equal in length, rather like an outgrown bowl-cut. Though the style itself was both plain and unflattering it still drew attention to his grey eyes, like storm clouds were housed within his eyes. With a mesh undershirt covered by a too-short shirt and the excessive amount of brown clothing that was so plain that they practically screamed 'Stone village'.

'_Nondescript,_' Valentine mused to herself, '_yet skilled'_, her gaze grazing over his weapon and hold, professional to the utmost detail in both stance and grip.

Herself, she was dressed in a white kimono, having had no time to change into some of the more appropriate and battle-ready items of clothing that currently rested in the scroll by her hip. Man, was she glad storage scrolls existed.  
A jagged slash ran through the material covering her legs, hurriedly made to make here movements much easier, especially when running as they had been through the forest. She was forcing herself to ignore the goose bumps that spread across her chocolate legs as a gentle wind caressed the exposed flesh with cool fingers. Yet she still ignored the revealed flesh, knowing that any male's attention would be focused upon her face as her ebony hair streamed out behind her like a banner in the cool breeze, to her violet eyes which were now rock hard as she gazed dispassionately towards her blonde opponent, before softening slightly as they flicked towards her own partner, Ember.

Violet eyes took in her friend's lithe form, wrapped in a short navy yukata, red blossoms crawling upon the high hem. Detachedly she noted her friend was still dressed in the casual clothing she had been wearing as she visited the hot spring, before she had caught sight of the trackers and dashed back to the hotel to warn Valentine so they could escape.

Scarlet hair shone eerily in the morning light, the high ponytail restraining most of her hair. As slight smile adorned the girl's pale face as she sized up her green-dressed opponent, golden eyes curious as they traced the chain crossing his chest, flickering to the mysterious bag at his waist.

Valentine watched her friend closely, aware for any of the subtle signs that would reveal the thoughts and emotions of her companion, before allowing a small smile of her own to dance across her lips before turning back to the blonde.

Ember's hands were shaking; blood would be spilled this day.

* * *

_-So… how's that for an update!_

_**Valentine thinks Ember would make a good panda**_

_-How do I put up with you?! It's a complete mystery to me_


	2. Trials and Challenges

_Wooop, more updated-ness! Blame Valentine and her excessive nagging!  
And I LOVE her for it, otherwise I'd just end up never updating anything.

* * *

  
_

'_Okay so he's got the bored look down to a 'T' _' Ember thought to herself, '_that's all fine and good, but what's in the bag?_'

She was starting to get a little ansty, her excitement beginning to make her shake.

Slipping her hands into her obi she tried to calm herself, and her shaking abated a little, though she could do nothing for the malicious smirk that played across her face, her thoughts preoccupied as she pictured the ninja's blood staining the parched grass beneath her feet.

It was at this point the blonde felt the need to address the two females before him.

"I don't suppose there's any chance of you two coming peacefully with us, is there?"

At his hesitant words Valentine barely suppressed the chuckle that crept up her throat and turned her eyes to her red-haired friend, awaiting her answer.

"Bite me," Ember spat out venomously "If you think I'll let either of us go back there then you've got another thing coming".

As she spoke her right hand rose unconsciously towards her face before she jolted it away on noticing her action, before glaring defiantly at the blonde. To her left Valentine stiffened at the girl's movement, ducking her head slightly as she pressed her left hand to her face, fingertips just brushing at the metal mask that covered half her face.

* * *

His green eyes were sad as he watched their pained actions, his eyes drawn to their now harsh faces that glared back at him, gold and violet clashed with green and brown.  
He could almost sympathise with them, he had been briefed of their past and circumstance when he and his team had been sent to hunt them down.

Both had been orphaned in some small unknown village but had been kidnapped at the age of six and trained hard to be the warriors they now were. By the age of nine both were far more advanced than the elder children they had been trained with and, if they were to be given a shinobi rank then they were at least low to mid chuunin level.

Now that they were eleven, and had been on the run for a number of weeks, and after leaving a trail of blood in their wake their current rank was now at high chuunin, their training having been slowed due to the slight rebellions the two had instigated within the junior's training camp, they had even had the support of those aged 15 and above, a hard lot to gain the respect of. They had greatly aided the two's escape, especially as most had sympathised with much that had been wrought upon the two.

Just last year the two had then been selected to take part in various experiments, leaving both girls forced to wear the metal masks that covered half of their faces, or more specifically an eye, the right for the red head and the left for the dark haired one. Both would be forced to wear a mask for the rest of their lives, the change was permanent.

It had been during one of the tests that something had gone wrong and it had formed a bloodline, one not seen since the first shinobi was, the "**metsuki kami**" (_Eyes of God_).

Unwilling to let such a powerful bloodline loose until it was firmly under his control, his boss had decided to personally train the two girls, after fitting both girls with the masks, so that there would be no accidents. So the masks suppressed their shared bloodline, and then their strict and excessively violent training began.

Finally they could take no more and at the age of ten began to plan their escape, aided by the other children within the base.

* * *

Unable to use their bloodline temporarily due to the chakra seals both working within the metal masks, and also the seals that held the masks in place so that they could currently not remove; the two were forced to resort to sly and cunning.

On the night of their escape a blood moon was high in the sky, and under which they had rejoiced at their escape briefly by rewarding themselves their first glimpses of the rolling forests that surrounded them, finally free. Since then they had been on the run.

It had been pure luck on behalf of the hunting squad that they had stopped at the small village; they had been in need of supplies after being on the move constantly for a number of weeks. The two had been working there as errand girls and casual workers, shunning the warrior side of themselves. It had taken but one brief glimpse of a metal mask as the scarlet-haired one had been exiting the women's baths and then the chase had been on.

* * *

His thoughts were interrupted as his brown eyed companion began unwrapping the chain from about his body and then started untying the knots of the bag at his waist.

"Shall we begin then?" he asked as he finally removed the bag, revealing the shining blade of his kusarigama (chain sickle) and the black metal of the counter weight, the latter of which had been beaten into the form of an over-large kunai.

"My words precisely" Ember replied, drawing a fan from her crimson obi. It was only on attempting to pull it apart that she realised her foolish mistake, having been too caught up in her anger, she had drawn her actual fan, instead of her fan tantō (a dagger hidden as a closed fan).

"Hahahaha!"

"Shut up!" Ember shouted back as she fumbled for her actual hidden blade, whilst having to swiftly dodge the chain that kept on trying to entangle her within its metallic grasp, "Quit laughing at me, stupid bronze lump o' crap!"

"You annoying little... pipsqueak!" his laughter halting as he roared back at his nimble opponent, becoming ever more irritated as she continued to dodge his ever more aggressive swings with the shining chain.

"That all you can come up with?" she teased as she tossed a smoke bomb between his feet. Once his coughing had subsided he growled out angrily

"I can come up with your head if you just **quit moving about!**"

"Now why would I do that?" Ember replied sarcastically, her tantō actually in hand this time as she casually parried the chain away as it attempted to close about her neck.

Valentine merely looked on and shook her head slowly in resignation before turning away from Ember's mild challenge.

"I have to say I really do feel sorry for us, I mean, what did we do to deserve such partners?" She sighed, her opponent nodding his blonde head in agreement before they stood ready, weapons poised, katana versus her own tantō, drawn during the distracting banter Ember had thoughtfully provided.

**CLANG**

They clashed, their movements too swift for the human eye to glimpse, traceable only by the sparks that fell between them as their blades met.  
One moved like the wind, harsh and powerful, the other almost _was_ the wind, smooth movements keeping their opponent at bay, distracting their opponent with fluttering blossoms that distorted the vision.

Valentine did not like to be underestimated, and the annoying shinobi was raising her ire rapidly.

She was going to break him.

* * *

  
_Yay for Valentine-ness! Beat him down!_


	3. Thunder, Rain and Revelations

_And so the tale continues…

* * *

_

_*flashback*_

_They had been hiding in the small town for roughly three days and had welcomed the brief respite from the fear of the chase that had hounded their heels whole-heartedly. Of course they had received some curious looks, even some outright rude stares on account of their masks, but they had persevered and after telling a small lie that they covered their faces on account of an accident when they were younger involving a pan of boiling water they had obtained a cash-in-hand job of delivering packages around the town._

_Valentine had returned from the hot springs on the third day to hopefully wake herself up at such an early hour, Ember meanwhile had gone off to complete her first job of the day before going to visit the baths herself. Dressing quickly the dark-haired girl re-checked her equipment, an uneasy feeling causing her to become paranoid and more careful that the two keep their equipment to hand in both scrolls and sacks._

_When Ember burst into their rented room with a slight look of panic upon her face, Valentine had been instantly moving, grabbing their bags from beside the door and then both vanished through the open window, a pre-planned escape route._

_As they dashed into the forest that loomed behind the hotel that they had cautiously chosen for its nearness to the forest Valentine permitted herself a glance back over her shoulder, trying to figure out who or what exactly they were up against. All she could see was a small group making their swift way towards their prior residence, their numbers unsure from a distance but she was unwilling to linger to truly find out._

_As the two vanished into the dark forest the crash of shattering glass echoed through the early morning silence as their pursuers entered the hotel. _

_They didn't look back, they couldn't afford to. They had no time._

_*end flashback*  
_

* * *

Finally Ember began to bore of the kusarigama wielder as she found herself merely dodging his attacks, being unable to get close whilst his chain flailed through the air. Glancing over at Valentine she finally shouted,

"Quit messing about and let's get this done" before dancing in close and slashing towards her opponent as his chain faltered as she shouted, a gap in his defence revealed itself and she slashed towards her opponent's leading arm, annoyance causing her strikes to be deep and vicious as she slashed into the muscles.

As if she had been awaiting those words Valentine disengaged from her opponent and, running her tantō across her open palm, flicked the welling blood onto the ground in front of her before flashing though a number of seals at a rate too rapid for the untrained eye, a blur even for the majority of trained shinobi, and ending with the dragon seal.

"**Suiton:** **Tenkou Heki**" (Water Element: Heaven's Tears)

At her murmured words clouds began rolling in dark and thick with moisture, hiding the sun with their masses. Suddenly the rain began to fall, the tick sheets of water distorting the perceptions of their unprepared enemies; leaping back to put a little distance between the pairs, the females awaited the end of the rain.

* * *

The rain itself stopped as quickly as it had begun, Valentine then preceded to give a mocking bow to her soaked companion who was glaring towards the ebony-haired beauty who had somehow remained dry throughout the downpour.

Turning away Ember sheathed her tantō and after slipping the 'fan' into her obi she then, calmly clapped her hands above her head before gently lowering them and, taking several steps backwards until she was stood upon a reasonably dry tuft of grass, pressed her hands into a puddle before her. The ripples spread outwards from her palms with increasing rapidity and as her whispered words finally made their way to the ears of the watching men their eyes widened in horror.

"**Raiton: ****Raikou Houkou**" (Lightning Element: Lightning Roar)

A small smirk adorned her face as the bright light rushed past her, her hair trying to stand on end, leaving a booming roar in its wake as the lightning smashed into the soaked ground, the puddles in which the men were left standing in after Valentine's jutsu acting as conductors for the lightning's questing energy.

The men had no time to escape and the air around them lit up iridescently as the water became charged with energy, shocking them, their bodies flailing as the energy passed though them, muscles contorting into near-impossible positions as spasms took hold of them.

Walking towards her now smoking and reasonably charred opponent she poked him once with her foot and she assured he was dead; he had been closest to the strike.

* * *

Hearing the whisper of parted flesh her golden eyes looked towards Valentine as she dispatched her stunned opponent. He had somehow managed to move a little further from the strike due to his quick reactions, yet still he had not been able to completely avoid the attack's effects.

Now the clouds began to clear and the wet ground looked as if it was covered with diamonds as the water droplets that had settled on the glades of grass refracted the light, giving birth to thousands of miniature rainbows.

Wiping her blade clean on the dead man's shirt she stood, graceful even when killing and brushed her dark locks out of her face as she tilted her head back to greet the now uncovered sun.

Her violet eye was closed so she missed the poignant moment in which she stood but Ember did not, the sun sending its gentle fingers of light fluttering over the sparkling blooms which were scattered across her delicate white kimono, marred now by the blood of the corpse at her feet.

* * *

A malicious grin spread across Ember's face and suddenly Valentine was sprayed with a handful of water which left her spluttering at her now laughing companion, who had to clutch her belly at the look on her friend's face.

"Oh grow up Ember!" Valentine grouchily hissed towards her friend as she scanned the area. She was distracted from her observations by the flash of a blade and, glancing towards her red-haired friend wrinkled her nose in annoyance at the other girl's actions.

After recovering from her laughing fit she turned back to her own corpse and, withdrawing a sealing scroll from her back which was sitting rather inconspicuously at her feet and, swiping blood across the seal with her now bitten thumb a poof of smoke appeared. Her lips twitched slightly as she gazed upon the blade which had appeared from the scroll, lying innocently upon her palm.

The rare blade was a kubikiri ('head cutter'); it's inside curve the sharpened blade. There was no sharp point with which to stab or maim an enemy, it being a weapon traditionally carried to take the heads of fallen enemies as trophies.

'_Well, it's current use was half right_' Ember mused to herself as the sharp blade slit her opponent's blackened and charred flesh as if it were butter.

She recalled the look on the silver-haired boy's face when he realised she had purloined the tool, his glasses flashing in the candlelight and she chuckled as she completed her task.

* * *

  
When she finally separated the head she sealed it into the slightly bloodied scroll before standing, her pack and scroll held in one hand and picked her way carefully through the waterlogged grass until she reached Valentine, her golden eyes avoiding the disgusted look on her friend's face that would inevitably be there.

Kneeling quickly she repeated her earlier actions and soon she had two heads sealed within her scroll. Carefully she slipped the scroll into her pack she stood at Valentine's side, looking away from the girl's violet gaze. Sighing at the annoyance radiation from her dark-haired companion Ember could not help herself from justifying her actions,

"You wanna eat right? Sooner we cash these in the better"

"It's not safe" Valentine whispered to herself

"Hmmm?" Ember turned her head slightly, until she could view the violet eyed girl in her peripheral vision

"We should separate" This time her words were louder, and seemed to echo through the clearing. Ember merely stood, stunned at the sudden statement. Finally she gathered herself and angrily turned to Valentine, gold eyes flashing

"What?!"

* * *

_  
WOAH! Here's a revelation!_

_Did that shock anyone? Hope so XP_

_When I showed Valentine this she hit me, annoyed at the suspense. Have no fear, next chapter is nearly completed, so the suspense shall last only a little longer._


	4. Betrayal and Confrontations

_Ember wuv's Valentine_

_... And is incredibly random in her author notes_

_And I apologise muchly for my very late update, I kept missing the times Valentine told me to update, so this just sat on my computer getting dusty  
_

_Disclaiming everything! Except anything that is mine… yeah, that's it… read on!

* * *

  
_-3 months later-

There was uproar within Konoha. The sun was high and the chuunin within the village were partaking in a frantic hunt throughout the village for a seemingly elusive gennin by the name of Uzumaki Naruto.

Within a secluded clearing, containing a dilapidated little hut, there stood an orange-clothed gennin who was panting heavily, tired out from several hours of repeatedly attempting a technique from the weird scroll, intensely focused on the sole thought of his private graduation task.

"I found you Naruto!" Suddenly his academy teacher Iruka appeared before the young blonde, a frown firmly fixed upon his stern visage as he looked down at the exhausted boy.

* * *

"Ah Iruka, so you found this place!"

The brunette turned swiftly, until his back was to the tired blonde and gazing at the silver-haired form of his colleague, Mizuki.

He was suddenly flung off his feet as a barrage of kunai and shuriken slammed into his stiff form, having been unable to defend himself at the expense of Naruto's safety amd pinned up against the rotting wood wall of the silent shed.

"What's going on Mizuki?" Iruka coughed painfully, blood marring his uniform from the weapons impaling his flesh.

"I merely stumbled across the demon brat attacking you, and stepped into help. Sadly my aid came at the cost of the death of a certain blonde, and my dear co-worker Iruka tragically died whilst attempting to prevent the demon from escaping with the forbidden scroll.

"Iruka-sensei," The boy's quiet whisper seemed to echo throughout the malice-drenched air "what's going on? What is he on about? Demon? Where?"

"Quiet filth!" Mizuki shouted, his eyes wide with a glimmer of madness shining within their depths, unhitching one of the two giant shuriken from his back he flung the weapon towards the young boy, the spinning metal accurate in its direction.

"Naruto, NO!"

* * *

A pained grunt was emitted as the weapon sank into a padded vest, the material holding at least some protection for the chuunin, as the metal blade only sank into his back by about half and inch, luckily missing his spine by a couple of centimetres.

"Why?"

"Because you remind me of myself when I was young. Playing the joker, the prankster. All for attention, and to distract from the pain"

"Pah, Iruka, he is nothing like you. You dare to say that that abomination is anything like you, he's not even human! Demon filth!"

"I-I I don't understand!"

"Don't you wonder why you are hated Naruto?"

"Mizuki, No!"

"The day of the Kyuubi attacked the fourth went forth, riding atop the toad boss, and fought the Kyuubi head on. He died, and you were left"

"It is forbidden to speak of this Mizuki! The Third's law.."

"That night, the night of your birth, the nine-tailed fox attacked"

"But- that has nothing to do with me!!"

"Wrong demon filth, this has everything to do with you"

"But why!"

"You ARE the Kyuubi!"

* * *

"Oh give it a rest!" a mysterious voice flooded the scene, freezing all in their previous positions.

"**Raiton:** **Raikou Odori**" (Lightning Element: Lightning Dance)

Suddenly Mizuki began to jerk, the giant shuriken previously held within his grasp falling to the ground, flickering as lightning flickered between the blades, its sharp spikes slipping seamlessly into the earth and the blue lightning vanished.

Iruka was left staring, eyes wide as Mizuki followed his weapon's rapid descent with his own body, his eyes rolled back, whites showing as he slipped into unconsciousness, plummeting towards the dropped weapon. He had lightning flickering across his body, this having short-circuited his brain and forced his unconsciousness body to fall directly onto the metallic spikes that faced the sky.

Or not, his descent was suddenly halted just before the metal pierced his vulnerable back by a fist that slammed into the side of his face, switching his direction of gravitational energy (falling, in other words) into a horizontal direction before being forcibly stopped by an object of solid matter, simply meaning she punched the grey-haired fool sideways into a tree.

* * *

Both Iruka and his blonde student were left speechless as the traitorous chuunin slid to the ground, his nose now a broken and bleeding purée. A voice then spoke from the shadows,

"Oi, kid. Tie him up would you?" The question was more of an order and Naruto found the voice compelling and was instantly obeying, his trickster skills having given him and extensive knowledge into the depths of impossible-to-untie knot making.

Just as he finished the final loop five masked ANBU appeared, one appearing to the side of Mizuki's well-bound body, scaring Naruto with the sudden appearance of the large ninja, a bear mask in place, as the stranger's body towered over his own, shadowing him slightly, his reaction was to scuttle back to the side of his injured sensei. Faltering slightly as he approached the blonde carefully settled against the older man, allowing himself to relax a little in his presence when a long arm was draped across his orange clothed shoulders, but was mindful of the man's injuries inflicted by the earlier barrage of shuriken and kunai.

A hawk masked ANBU walked over to the two, and swiftly kneeling by the academy teacher proceeded to pass a hand enveloped in green medical chakra across the sluggishly bleeding wounds the brunette had received.

The scroll, that had been abandoned in the midst of the sudden events that had unfolded within the isolated clearing was picked up by a third member of the squadron, this one with a cat mask in place immediately vanished, taking the scroll immediately to the Hokage, as ordered.

At the sudden rustling in the trees surrounding the clearing, all members were on edge, the two who had not yet moved, faces hidden behind dog and boar masks were immediately preparing both offensive and defensive attacks but slowed their movements when they recognised the slight chakra flare, their captain had caught something.

* * *

Finally the sounds of fighting ended and from the trees stepped their captain, wolf mask shining eerily in the shaded clearing, his blade was pressed firmly against the throat of a stranger, whose head was forced backwards by the gloved hand that pulled harshly at long scarlet hair.

Blood was visible upon the two, suggesting to the squadron that their captive was either strong enough to challenge their captain, or that their captain had become sloppy, both explanations were suspect.

The boar strode quickly across the clearing, and relieved his captain of his prisoner, preparing to teleport immediately to the interrogation rooms as was standard practice with such situations of intrusion.

He started a little when his captive began to speak, his large hands convulsing around the slim wrists.

"I… request a meeting with your Lord Hokage" Ember spoke, shaking scarlet hair out of her face casually as she spoke, not letting any emotions onto her face as she addressed the wolf masked man, formally bowing after her request was completed. She ignored the weapons that were still pointed in her direction, none having been lowered since her entrance into the clearing.

Swiftly she averted gold eyes from the rapid hand seals that passed between several members, one vanishing, a leaf left dancing in a slight breeze as the dog masked one performed shunshin.

The tense silence that then enveloped the clearing was grating for Naruto, being unused to prolonged silences unless he was alone, forcing him to twitch with restless energy. Gently Iruka tugged on the sleeve of the young boy's jumpsuit, sufficiently distracting the boy on presenting him with a forehead protector.

* * *

Ember found herself smiling at the scene the two made, seeming almost like brothers in their familiarity, and she was forced to stifle a snicker of laughter as the blonde threw himself at his sensei, the man's face flashing between embarrassment and joy, thankfully his wounds had been patched up earlier, otherwise he would have been in a rather painful situation. The familial relationship between the two set her to reminiscing about a certain ebony-haired girl with violet eyes, but she banished that train of thought, instead setting her mind to counting as many leaves upon the trees as she could.

Finally the ANBU messenger returned, dog mask firmly in place. A single nod was all it took before the squadron were in motion. Mizuki's body was swung across the broad shoulders of the Bear, seemingly an easy bundle to carry.

Ember found herself flinching as her hands were roughly crossed before her, the Cat masked member holding her wrists firmly as he moved forwards to her right side, the hawk masked medic was to her left.

"Any false moves and this chakra scalpel will kill you so swift, you'll be dead before you can next blink" the woman's hand was resting almost comfortingly upon Ember's side, yet it was placed in a perfect position for a blade of 'healing' chakra to slip directly into the heart, avoiding the ribcage that was supposed to protect such fragile organs.

Before Ember disappeared with the two ANBU members her golden gaze flicked towards the young blonde, now proudly sitting with a headband across his brow, his own cerulean eyes watching the members curiously.

Nodding her head once to him she said,

"You did pretty well… for a brat"

As the experience of shunshin began she heard the boy give an indignant shout of "Hey!" before they vanished completely from the clearing.

Her smile soon faded as she was faced with the grave face of the Sandaime Hokage of Konohanogakure, 'The Professor'.

* * *

_Okay, finally got this update, take it as an extremely late Christmas and New year present, all wrapped up into one magical bundle and put into this story chapter form ... _

_Thanks to Valentine for beta-ing this for me. Would be much stuck without you!_

_Ember quote: "Little stars shine brightest when beheld under the moon's oppulent gaze"  
_


End file.
